Turning Ordinary Household Goods into Survival Gear

Being able to improvise in an emergency situation may save your life or that of someone else. In a natural disaster or other emergency there will be items and objects left lying around for the taking. Have you ever been amazed at watching survivalist experts as they demonstrate urban and wilderness survival techniques and wished you had thought of that? Spend time now thinking how to turn your ordinary household items into survival gear that can help you when it really counts.

The key trick here is to start practicing thinking about as many other uses as possible for household items that can help you in a survival situation. This can be a slow process at first until you get used to it. Once you get the hang of it, it actually can become a pretty fun hobby that you can do anytime, anywhere for free. Start by picking a random object within your line of sight.

A plastic cup, for example. What other things besides a cup could you use this for? A container to collect rain water. You could punch holes in the sides and tie some sort of cordage to it to use it as a carrying device. You could punch holes in the bottom of it, put dirt in it and use it for a beginning planter for some types of plants. Although you don't want to breathe the fumes from it, you could burn it to make the smoke from your signal fire black if the background is mostly a light color. If it's broken and sharp on one side you might be able to use the serrated edge to cut something else.

Broken cell phone: Perhaps the battery still works. Touching it to some steel wool like S.O.S pads will cause the metal to get red hot and you'll have the ability to create fire.

Wires of any kind: Split them apart and use portions of them for snares or to hook and join things together. Secure other items down. Braid them together to make a wire "rope" when one length is not strong enough. Make fish hooks out of some of the smaller portions.

Furniture: Disassemble any unused furniture and burn the wood, save the screws if you can for use when you're building other items.

Books: Keep the ones that provide you spiritual or emotional comfort (especially if you or the kids ever get bored in the longer term survival issues.) Keep the ones that tell you how to build, make, create or fix things. Burn everything else.

Silverware can be turned into weaponry or strung together using wires or other cordage and placed strategically near openings of your dwelling to use as a security "alarm." If you have any silverware such as large bladed knives that you're not using for weapons, use them as reflective devices when trying to signal others.

Keep going through the items in your home and think of as many other uses an object can offer you if its cut into parts, have holes poked in it, burned, weighed down, buried or exposed to sunlight. How about stuffed animals on a wall? Horns and antlers can be used as grappling hooks and weapons. Take this thinking process to items on a vehicle, in a restaurant, etc... Have fun with it and one day this thought process may keep you alive!